Austria | Wildpark Ferleiten: Animals by the Großglockner

The wildlife park at Ferleiten is a small zoo with enclosures right in the mountains, close to the start of the Großglockner Hochalpenstraße. We stopped here in the evening on the way back from the mountains and it was a great end to the day: a quiet place that adults and children both enjoy, with animals from the Alps and from around the world, and a restaurant.

What is the Wild- & Erlebnispark Ferleiten?

The park is in Ferleiten near Fusch, in the valley below the Hochalpenstraße. It was founded in autumn 1979 on former farmland and belongs to the Mayr family, who have been in business in Ferleiten since 1874, when Johann Mayr built the Lukashansl inn. Today about 200 animals of around forty species live here, and next to the zoo there is an adventure park, so it suits half a day.

Which animals will you see?

The main route is a loop between the enclosures and you always run into someone. I saw:

A brown bear. It shares an enclosure with wolves, and in ours it showed up by a little cave in the rocks.
A lynx. It was lying on the wooden platform of a little house and looking as if it owned the park.
A deer at a feeder with hay.
Bison and mouflon, ibex, chamois and a snowy owl.
Wolves and marmots are also kept here.

Wildpark Ferleiten: A lynx lying on the wooden platform of a little house in the wildlife park enclosure, looking into the camera — A lynx on its platform.

A deer with spotted fur and antlers in velvet feeding on hay at a wooden feeder — A deer at the feeder.

Two bison in an enclosure among larches in an alpine wildlife park — Bison in the wildlife park at Ferleiten.

Two female mouflon on a rocky slope by a wooden hut — Mouflon.

An ibex resting under a wooden shelter on a green meadow — An ibex.

A chamois standing in a meadow behind a fence — A chamois.

A brown bear sitting on the grass by a wooden post in the wildlife park enclosure — A brown bear.

A snowy owl behind wire mesh in an enclosure — A snowy owl.

What else: the adventure park and the restaurant

The zoo comes with an adventure park, which covers roughly two hectares and has about 40 play features, such as trampolines, slides, climbing elements and roundabouts. There is also a 3D blacklight mini golf. So you can keep children busy even after you've seen the animals, and for bad weather there is reportedly an indoor play room in the park.

There is a restaurant at 1,151 metres above sea level with regional cuisine, and the history of the place is tied to the Lukashansl inn, which has stood here since 1874. I write about food and beer after visiting the wildlife park in a separate article.

Wildpark Ferleiten: A woman in glasses rocking on a spring rocking goat on the grass, with a wooden fence and a stable in the valley behind her — A rocking goat on the playground.

A man in a wooden frame with a view into the valley — A wooden frame with a view.

Practical info

Address: Ferleiten 2, 5672 Fusch an der Großglocknerstraße, Austria.
Contact: +43 6546 220, info@wildpark-ferleiten.at, wildpark-ferleiten.at.
Opening hours: roughly from May to early November, daily from morning to late afternoon, longer in summer. Sources differ on the exact hours, so check them on the park's website before you go.
Admission: current prices and online tickets are on the park's website. I don't give specific amounts here because they change.
Parking: on site, according to AlpenParks free of charge with plenty of spaces.
Path: according to AlpenParks the path is barrier-free and suitable for pushchairs. You can buy animal feed at the entrance.
Dogs: they are not allowed in the free-roaming area during the deer calving season, roughly from mid-May to mid-June.

Trips and tickets